The Office will finally get a reboot. At least an Australian version of the show. Variety has confirmed that Amazon Prime Video will be producing the upcoming series. The star this time around is Felicity Ward as Hannah Howard. She’s the chief of the packaging company Flinley Craddick. Below is the official synopsis of the series: “In a post-covid plot twist, Howard gets news from head office that her brand will be shutting down and that staff will have to work from home. She goes into survival mode, making she can’t keep and launching outlandish plots in order to keep...
- 7/14/2023
- by Jeffrey Bowie Jr.
- TVovermind.com
The Office is being remade again for the thirteenth time. This adaption will be an Australian version featuring a female lead, Felicity Ward, for the first time. Ward will be acting as Hannah Howard, the manager of one of the branches of Flinley Craddick, a packaging company. This adaption differs from the original U.K. version as it will follow what happens to Howard and the other branch workers when they must work from home due to their branch being shut down.
Prime Video Australia will be creating the show and it will be an eight-part series. Filming will start in June and is set to launch in 2024. Viewers can access the show through Prime membership, as it will be an Amazon Original show.
Other actors will star in the series including Steen Raskopoulos, Firass Dirani, Susan Ling Young, Josh Thomson, Shari Sebbens, Edith Poor, Lucy Schmit, Jonny Brugh, Raj Labade and Pallavi Sharda.
Prime Video Australia will be creating the show and it will be an eight-part series. Filming will start in June and is set to launch in 2024. Viewers can access the show through Prime membership, as it will be an Amazon Original show.
Other actors will star in the series including Steen Raskopoulos, Firass Dirani, Susan Ling Young, Josh Thomson, Shari Sebbens, Edith Poor, Lucy Schmit, Jonny Brugh, Raj Labade and Pallavi Sharda.
- 6/4/2023
- by Nina Hauswirth
- Uinterview
Prime Video Australia is remaking The Office as a female-led comedy starring stand-up Felicity Ward in the role Ricky Gervais first made famous.
Gervais’ David Brent will become Hannah Howard in the series, with Ward putting her own spin on bad team management at packaging company Flinley Craddick. When she gets news from Head Office that they will be shutting down her branch and making everyone work from home, she goes into survival mode, making promises she can’t keep in order to keep her ‘work family’ together.
Ward is best known as a stand-up and for ABC series Spicks and Specks and The Ronnie Johns Half Hour. She also appeared in Wakefield and The Inbetweeners.
Additional cast includes Edith Poor (The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, The Power of the Dog), Steen Raskopoulos (The Duchess, Feel Good), Shari Sebbens (The Sapphires, Thor: Love and Thunder), Josh Thomson...
Gervais’ David Brent will become Hannah Howard in the series, with Ward putting her own spin on bad team management at packaging company Flinley Craddick. When she gets news from Head Office that they will be shutting down her branch and making everyone work from home, she goes into survival mode, making promises she can’t keep in order to keep her ‘work family’ together.
Ward is best known as a stand-up and for ABC series Spicks and Specks and The Ronnie Johns Half Hour. She also appeared in Wakefield and The Inbetweeners.
Additional cast includes Edith Poor (The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, The Power of the Dog), Steen Raskopoulos (The Duchess, Feel Good), Shari Sebbens (The Sapphires, Thor: Love and Thunder), Josh Thomson...
- 5/31/2023
- by Jesse Whittock
- Deadline Film + TV
“The Office” comedy franchise will see middle management led by a woman for the first time in an Australian version that will play on Amazon’s Prime Video.
Australian comedian and actor Felicity Ward will portray Hannah Howard, the MD of packaging company Flinley Craddick in “The Office Australia.” In a post-covid plot twist, Howard gets news from head office that her branch will be shutting down and that staff will have to work from home. She goes into survival mode, making promises she can’t keep and launches outlandish plots in order to keep her “work family” together.
The Australian adaptation is the 13th iteration of the show that was originally created by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant. Other international retreads have included those in France, Canada, Chile, Israel and the Middle East.
Filming of the eight-part series will commence in Sydney in June. Production is by Prime Video,...
Australian comedian and actor Felicity Ward will portray Hannah Howard, the MD of packaging company Flinley Craddick in “The Office Australia.” In a post-covid plot twist, Howard gets news from head office that her branch will be shutting down and that staff will have to work from home. She goes into survival mode, making promises she can’t keep and launches outlandish plots in order to keep her “work family” together.
The Australian adaptation is the 13th iteration of the show that was originally created by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant. Other international retreads have included those in France, Canada, Chile, Israel and the Middle East.
Filming of the eight-part series will commence in Sydney in June. Production is by Prime Video,...
- 5/31/2023
- by Katherine Tulich
- Variety Film + TV
Yet another Jungle Entertainment series is headed Stateside – this time drama Wakefield, with Showtime snapping up the US rights.
It’s the second Australian acquisition by the ViacomCBS-owned premium network of late, having also picked up See-Saw Films’ The End last September.
Created by Kristen Dunphy and originally commissioned by the ABC, Wakefield explores the fine line between sanity and madness through the perspectives of staff and patients at a psychiatric facility.
The cast is lead by Brit Rudi Dharmalingham, a gifted nurse, who is the sanest person in what is a pretty crazy place. But when a song gets stuck in his head, a dark secret from his past begins to intrude into his present.
The ensemble also includes Mandy McElhinney, Geraldine Hakewill, Harriet Dyer, Ryan Corr, Sam Simmons and Felicity Ward.
Sam Meikle is a showrunner with Dunphy, and both wrote alongside Joan Sauers and Cathy Strickland. Series...
It’s the second Australian acquisition by the ViacomCBS-owned premium network of late, having also picked up See-Saw Films’ The End last September.
Created by Kristen Dunphy and originally commissioned by the ABC, Wakefield explores the fine line between sanity and madness through the perspectives of staff and patients at a psychiatric facility.
The cast is lead by Brit Rudi Dharmalingham, a gifted nurse, who is the sanest person in what is a pretty crazy place. But when a song gets stuck in his head, a dark secret from his past begins to intrude into his present.
The ensemble also includes Mandy McElhinney, Geraldine Hakewill, Harriet Dyer, Ryan Corr, Sam Simmons and Felicity Ward.
Sam Meikle is a showrunner with Dunphy, and both wrote alongside Joan Sauers and Cathy Strickland. Series...
- 7/15/2021
- by Jackie Keast
- IF.com.au
There will be a strong Australian contingent at Series Mania in France this year, including Jungle Entertainment’s Wakefield, Aquarius Films’ The Unusual Suspects, Porchlight Films’ Fisk and Lazy Susan Films’ Iggy & Ace.
2020 saw the international TV festival initially forced to cancel outright before moving industry meetings and networking online. This year it returns, after two postponements, as an in-person event in Lille August 26 to September 3, with an accompanying special digital program.
Series Mania Forum, the industry arm of Series Mania, is set for August 30 – September 1.
Dramas Wakefield, commissioned by the ABC, and The Unusual Suspects, by Sbs, will each compete in the Panorama section.
ABC-ordered comedy Fisk, written, directed by and starring Kitty Flanagan, will be shown in the comedy strand, while Iggy and Ace, an upcoming short-form drama series for Sbs On Demand, will make its world premiere in the web series competitive section.
Two other Australian shows...
2020 saw the international TV festival initially forced to cancel outright before moving industry meetings and networking online. This year it returns, after two postponements, as an in-person event in Lille August 26 to September 3, with an accompanying special digital program.
Series Mania Forum, the industry arm of Series Mania, is set for August 30 – September 1.
Dramas Wakefield, commissioned by the ABC, and The Unusual Suspects, by Sbs, will each compete in the Panorama section.
ABC-ordered comedy Fisk, written, directed by and starring Kitty Flanagan, will be shown in the comedy strand, while Iggy and Ace, an upcoming short-form drama series for Sbs On Demand, will make its world premiere in the web series competitive section.
Two other Australian shows...
- 7/1/2021
- by Jackie Keast
- IF.com.au
Balancing humour and pathos: Kristen Dunphy and Chloe Rickard on the controlled chaos of ‘Wakefield’
When Wakefield premiered on the ABC this month, it was the culmination of a nearly decade-long journey for creator and showrunner Kristen Dunphy.
Finding a home for the mental health-focused series was only half the battle for its creative team as they were forced to navigate a Covid-19 shutdown across international and state borders. Dunphy and executive producer Chloe Rickard, COO Jungle Entertainment, talk to If about what it meant to finally complete the project.
Introspection resulting from self-isolation is hardly a new phenomenon.
But how does it factor into the portrayal of a fictional character?
In the case of Wakefield, Covid-19 protocol may have given lead actor Rudi Dharmalingam some of the emotional triggers necessary to step into the role of Nikhil Katira, a psychiatric nurse whose sanity begins to unravel while working at the titular facility.
Before he could resume filming the miniseries following the Covid-19 lockdown, Dharmalingam first had to complete quarantine,...
Finding a home for the mental health-focused series was only half the battle for its creative team as they were forced to navigate a Covid-19 shutdown across international and state borders. Dunphy and executive producer Chloe Rickard, COO Jungle Entertainment, talk to If about what it meant to finally complete the project.
Introspection resulting from self-isolation is hardly a new phenomenon.
But how does it factor into the portrayal of a fictional character?
In the case of Wakefield, Covid-19 protocol may have given lead actor Rudi Dharmalingam some of the emotional triggers necessary to step into the role of Nikhil Katira, a psychiatric nurse whose sanity begins to unravel while working at the titular facility.
Before he could resume filming the miniseries following the Covid-19 lockdown, Dharmalingam first had to complete quarantine,...
- 4/20/2021
- by Sean Slatter
- IF.com.au
What happens when the go-to man – the sanest individual in a psych ward – begins to lose his grip? When the person people rely on most, loses control?
After years working as a psych nurse at Wakefield, Nik Katira (Rudi Dharmalingam) is exceptionally good at his job. With a gift for soothing the afflicted and reaching the unreachable, he’s the most stable person in what tends to be a pretty crazy place. But right now, his grip on his own sanity is slipping. The question is… why?
Joining Dharmalingam in the cast of the eight-part ABC/Jungle Entertainment drama are Geraldine Hakewill, Mandy McElinney, Harriet Dyer, Harry Greenwood, Ryan Corr, Felicity Ward, Kim Gyngell, Dan Wyllie, Sam Simmons and Bessie Holland.
Wakefield will be available to binge on ABC iview from April 2, before airing on the ABC Sunday April 18 8.30pm.
The post ‘Wakefield’ (Trailer) appeared first on If Magazine.
After years working as a psych nurse at Wakefield, Nik Katira (Rudi Dharmalingam) is exceptionally good at his job. With a gift for soothing the afflicted and reaching the unreachable, he’s the most stable person in what tends to be a pretty crazy place. But right now, his grip on his own sanity is slipping. The question is… why?
Joining Dharmalingam in the cast of the eight-part ABC/Jungle Entertainment drama are Geraldine Hakewill, Mandy McElinney, Harriet Dyer, Harry Greenwood, Ryan Corr, Felicity Ward, Kim Gyngell, Dan Wyllie, Sam Simmons and Bessie Holland.
Wakefield will be available to binge on ABC iview from April 2, before airing on the ABC Sunday April 18 8.30pm.
The post ‘Wakefield’ (Trailer) appeared first on If Magazine.
- 3/4/2021
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
Rudi Dharmalingam in ‘Wakefield’ (Photo credit: Lisa Tomasetti.)
Jungle Entertainment, BBC Studios and the ABC’s Wakefield will be among the first drama series to resume shooting after the shutdown after the producers obtained an exemption from Border Force travel restrictions for Rudi Dharmalingam.
The British actor will return to Australia on July 10 and after two weeks in quarantine will be ready to work when filming resumes on August 3.
In the eight-parter set in a Blue Mountains psychiatric hospital created by Kristen Dunphy, Dharmalingham plays Nik, a psych nurse blessed with a powerful combination of common sense and intuition.
Nik is easily the sanest person in what is a pretty crazy place but when a song gets stuck in his head, a dark secret from his past begins to intrude into his present, forming an intriguing puzzle.
Geraldine Hakewill plays a psychiatrist with Mandy McElhinney as the head nurse, Dan Wyllie...
Jungle Entertainment, BBC Studios and the ABC’s Wakefield will be among the first drama series to resume shooting after the shutdown after the producers obtained an exemption from Border Force travel restrictions for Rudi Dharmalingam.
The British actor will return to Australia on July 10 and after two weeks in quarantine will be ready to work when filming resumes on August 3.
In the eight-parter set in a Blue Mountains psychiatric hospital created by Kristen Dunphy, Dharmalingham plays Nik, a psych nurse blessed with a powerful combination of common sense and intuition.
Nik is easily the sanest person in what is a pretty crazy place but when a song gets stuck in his head, a dark secret from his past begins to intrude into his present, forming an intriguing puzzle.
Geraldine Hakewill plays a psychiatrist with Mandy McElhinney as the head nurse, Dan Wyllie...
- 6/30/2020
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
Jason Burrows.
Jungle Entertainment CEO Jason Burrows advocates one key structural change if the Australian screen industry is to take full advantage of an expected, post-pandemic boom in demand for scripted content: Treat writers much better.
Burrows is confident Australia can produce drama which competes with the best in the world if writers are given more time for development, greater creative control, more training and mentoring and higher fees.
“If we don’t, we might as well stop making drama,” he said in a webinar with Screen Producers Australia CEO Matt Deaner yesterday.
“We should do that even it means Australia makes one less drama each year, as it will pay off in the long run for all of us.”
Too often, he says, projects go into production or pre-production without finished scripts due to numerous factors including network pressures to fill a gap in the schedule, limited development fees and investment,...
Jungle Entertainment CEO Jason Burrows advocates one key structural change if the Australian screen industry is to take full advantage of an expected, post-pandemic boom in demand for scripted content: Treat writers much better.
Burrows is confident Australia can produce drama which competes with the best in the world if writers are given more time for development, greater creative control, more training and mentoring and higher fees.
“If we don’t, we might as well stop making drama,” he said in a webinar with Screen Producers Australia CEO Matt Deaner yesterday.
“We should do that even it means Australia makes one less drama each year, as it will pay off in the long run for all of us.”
Too often, he says, projects go into production or pre-production without finished scripts due to numerous factors including network pressures to fill a gap in the schedule, limited development fees and investment,...
- 5/6/2020
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
‘Wakefield’.
British actor Rudi Dharmalingam, Mandy McElhinney and Geraldine Hakewill lead the cast of newly-announced ABC drama Wakefield, now shooting across Sydney, the Blue Mountains and the Southern Highlands.
Produced by Jungle Entertainment in partnership with BBC Studios, the eight-parter created by Kristen Dunphy is set in a Blue Mountains psychiatric hospital, and described as a psychological mystery exploring the fine line between sanity and madness.
At the show’s centre is Dharmalingham’s Nik, a gifted psych nurse, blessed with a powerful combination of common sense and intuition. Nik is easily the sanest person in what is a pretty crazy place. But when a song gets stuck in his head, a dark secret from his past begins to intrude into his present, forming an intriguing puzzle that comes together as the series builds to its heart wrenching conclusion.
Starring alongside is an impressive ensemble cast including Dan Wyllie, Harriet Dyer,...
British actor Rudi Dharmalingam, Mandy McElhinney and Geraldine Hakewill lead the cast of newly-announced ABC drama Wakefield, now shooting across Sydney, the Blue Mountains and the Southern Highlands.
Produced by Jungle Entertainment in partnership with BBC Studios, the eight-parter created by Kristen Dunphy is set in a Blue Mountains psychiatric hospital, and described as a psychological mystery exploring the fine line between sanity and madness.
At the show’s centre is Dharmalingham’s Nik, a gifted psych nurse, blessed with a powerful combination of common sense and intuition. Nik is easily the sanest person in what is a pretty crazy place. But when a song gets stuck in his head, a dark secret from his past begins to intrude into his present, forming an intriguing puzzle that comes together as the series builds to its heart wrenching conclusion.
Starring alongside is an impressive ensemble cast including Dan Wyllie, Harriet Dyer,...
- 2/12/2020
- by jkeast
- IF.com.au
‘Diary of an Uber Driver.’
Sally Riley is bemused when people use this line when they are pitching projects to her: “This is definitely an ABC show.”
The ABC’s head of scripted production, Riley usually replies: “What is that? What is an ABC show?”
Interviewed in her Ultimo office for a two-part story, she tells If: “If it’s a great show, we’ll do it. I don’t think it must fit in the parameters of what is supposed to be an ABC show.
“We want to not only hold our audiences but also bring in new and younger audiences and we have a broad slate to try to meet both. We will definitely take a calculated risk when we believe in a show.”
As an example of a program which she thinks most people would not expect to see on the public broadcaster, she points to Les Norton,...
Sally Riley is bemused when people use this line when they are pitching projects to her: “This is definitely an ABC show.”
The ABC’s head of scripted production, Riley usually replies: “What is that? What is an ABC show?”
Interviewed in her Ultimo office for a two-part story, she tells If: “If it’s a great show, we’ll do it. I don’t think it must fit in the parameters of what is supposed to be an ABC show.
“We want to not only hold our audiences but also bring in new and younger audiences and we have a broad slate to try to meet both. We will definitely take a calculated risk when we believe in a show.”
As an example of a program which she thinks most people would not expect to see on the public broadcaster, she points to Les Norton,...
- 5/7/2019
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
UTA has hired comedy promoter Georgie Donnelly as an agent in its Comedy Touring division. She will be based in London along with last year’ comedy agent hire Bjorn Wentlandt and book and rep comedy acts internationally.
Donnelly, a leading producer at Edinburgh Fringe, most recently was Head of Comedy at Kilimanjaro Live where she toured UK acts including Tape Face, Jessica Fostekew and Tony Law.
Before that, she lived in Australia and worked at Laughing Stock Productions, producing acts including Felicity Ward, Demi Lardner, Chopper and Sammy J & Randy. She began her career in the UK as an agent at Rbm Comedy.
“We are thrilled to have Georgie join our expanding global team,” said Nick Nuciforo, Head of Comedy Touring at UTA, in a release announcing Donnelly’s hire. “Her extensive and unique experience in promotion will be an invaluable resource to our team. She is a respected figure in the industry,...
Donnelly, a leading producer at Edinburgh Fringe, most recently was Head of Comedy at Kilimanjaro Live where she toured UK acts including Tape Face, Jessica Fostekew and Tony Law.
Before that, she lived in Australia and worked at Laughing Stock Productions, producing acts including Felicity Ward, Demi Lardner, Chopper and Sammy J & Randy. She began her career in the UK as an agent at Rbm Comedy.
“We are thrilled to have Georgie join our expanding global team,” said Nick Nuciforo, Head of Comedy Touring at UTA, in a release announcing Donnelly’s hire. “Her extensive and unique experience in promotion will be an invaluable resource to our team. She is a respected figure in the industry,...
- 2/4/2019
- by Patrick Hipes
- Deadline Film + TV
On this week's episode of popular game show Talkin' 'Bout Your Generation, host Shaun Micallef asked actor Josh Lawson how his latest film Any Questions for Ben? was performing.
"Tremendously well," said Lawson, who was dressed as Romeo as part of the episode's Shakespearean theme. "Yeah, no, it's doing very well."
"I should explain," said Micallef quickly to the viewers at home. "We did pre-record this at a point before the film had opened. Can we do the alternative just in case?"
"Of course," Lawson agreed.
"Josh, how is the film doing?"
"People hate it," said Lawson promptly. "And they seem to specifically hate me in it."
The reality seems to lie somewhere in between these two extremes for the latest comedy from Working Dog. Audiences aren't united in their hatred of Any Questions for Ben?, but then again, not many of them have seen it.
The film grossed just...
"Tremendously well," said Lawson, who was dressed as Romeo as part of the episode's Shakespearean theme. "Yeah, no, it's doing very well."
"I should explain," said Micallef quickly to the viewers at home. "We did pre-record this at a point before the film had opened. Can we do the alternative just in case?"
"Of course," Lawson agreed.
"Josh, how is the film doing?"
"People hate it," said Lawson promptly. "And they seem to specifically hate me in it."
The reality seems to lie somewhere in between these two extremes for the latest comedy from Working Dog. Audiences aren't united in their hatred of Any Questions for Ben?, but then again, not many of them have seen it.
The film grossed just...
- 2/17/2012
- by Amanda Diaz
- IF.com.au
Australian film Any Questions for Ben has opened with mild box office results over its opening weekend.
The film, directed by Rob Sitch for Working Dog Productions, took $609,000 across 235 screens for a screen average of $2,500.
It’s a disappointing first week for the Working Dog team who also wrote, directed and produced box office hit The Castle and The Dish.
The fast-paced romantic comedy follows Ben (Josh Lawson) as he suffers from a quarter-life crisis and struggles to keep a girlfriend for longer than a month. It also stars Rachael Taylor and co-stars Daniel Henshall, Ed Kavalee, Felicity Ward and Lachy Hulme.
The cumulative total gross is $677,000. The film is distributed by Roadshow.
Meanwhile A Few Best Men, directed by Stephan Elliott, took $539,000 from 237 screens in its third week out, for a screen average of $2274, for a cumulative total of $4,669,000. A Few Best Men is distributed by Icon Films.
Elsewhere Shame,...
The film, directed by Rob Sitch for Working Dog Productions, took $609,000 across 235 screens for a screen average of $2,500.
It’s a disappointing first week for the Working Dog team who also wrote, directed and produced box office hit The Castle and The Dish.
The fast-paced romantic comedy follows Ben (Josh Lawson) as he suffers from a quarter-life crisis and struggles to keep a girlfriend for longer than a month. It also stars Rachael Taylor and co-stars Daniel Henshall, Ed Kavalee, Felicity Ward and Lachy Hulme.
The cumulative total gross is $677,000. The film is distributed by Roadshow.
Meanwhile A Few Best Men, directed by Stephan Elliott, took $539,000 from 237 screens in its third week out, for a screen average of $2274, for a cumulative total of $4,669,000. A Few Best Men is distributed by Icon Films.
Elsewhere Shame,...
- 2/13/2012
- by Colin Delaney
- Encore Magazine
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